The Dutchman was Jürgen Klopp’s top transfer target over the Summer as he looked to strengthen his defence which has come under constant scrutiny over the previous season’s. It became clear to Liverpool fans that Van Dijk could be a Liverpool player when the Southampton man came out publically to say he was keen on the move to Merseyside.
However, days later Liverpool were accused by Southampton of tapping up the former Celtic man, which then led to the Reds pulling out of the deal completely and issuing an official public apology to the Saints.
The 26-year-old later would take matters into his own hands by handing in an official transfer request and even trained alone to force through the deal he was desperate to see through, sadly to no avail.
Southampton to their merit refused to sell the £50 million rated defender who returned to their starting 11 for the first time in a 2-1 defeat to Stoke at the Bet 365 stadium on Saturday which even saw Van Dijk concede a penalty on his return.
Saints manager Manuel Pellegrino ordered Van Dijk, who signed a long-term six-year contract for the club in May 2016, to train alone in July amid speculation over his future.
His first appearance of the season came as a substitute against Crystal Palace last month.
Could the love affair between the Reds and the Dutchman rekindle?
However, upon joining up with the Dutch National team this week, Van Dijk has rekindled Liverpool’s desire to sign the defender after reportedly confirming his desire to leave the Saints in January.
Van Dijk who was also linked with a move to Champions Chelsea and current Premier League leaders Manchester City says he has “no regrets” about his attempt to leave to Saints, who signed him for £13 million back in September 2013.
“Of course, I wanted to go one step up, but eventually Southampton did not want to let me go, but you’re a professional, so now I’ll give everything to the club.
“Halfway through the season maybe we can see what’s possible”.
Although this doesn’t compare to his tense personal statement, which included a 495-word document that completely went against Southampton. However, the Dutchman clearly has his heart set on a transfer as quickly as possible.
Liverpool fans were left heartbroken during the closing of the transfer window and also frustrated. No official bid was made by the Reds even when the defender was training with the youth team back in August.
The club’s interest in the Saint never went away nor has Van Dijk’s desire to move to Anfield which would see the player shape up a defence that has already conceded 20 goals in 12 games.
Jürgen Klopp needs no reminder that his defensive side of the team needs a shape up after failing to find a permanent Centre-back pairing with Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan both continually coming in and out of the team.
It’s obvious that Van Dijk isn’t the final piece in Jürgen Klopp’s puzzle to take the club to new heights as even the Dutchman has mistakes in his game which was evident Saturday after fouling Sadio Berahinho to concede a penalty for his side on the weekend
However, the 26-year-old has shown promise especially over the last two seasons and would be the perfect fit for a lackluster defence that simply needs improvement. Virgil Van Dijk was the right man for Liverpool in June, in August and he still is now.
It remains unknown Van Dijk’s future but it still is clear that Liverpool’s attempts to sign their man are certainly not over just yet.